The government says its preferred option is to remove all foreign language voiceovers and interpreters from both parts of the driving test, but it is also consulting on doing nothing or removing support from one or other parts of the test.

BBC: Driving test translations and interpreters may face axe

Writing skills, general management experience, technical and computer skills, people smarts, and international experience or language skills are examples of skills with what we call high option value -- that is, they are transferable to a wide range of possible options.

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There are really only two solutions: get them to adopt the promotion mindset (the harder option in the current climate), or use the right language to work with their prevention mindset instead.

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If that additional menu option is one too many and you unleash a volley of terse language down the phone, it will immediately connect you with a real person.

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For now, many consumers' best option is to seek out an experienced and reputable insurance agent to cut through all the confusing language, says Amy Bach, who runs United Policyholders, a consumer-advocacy group in San Francisco.

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